A Detour from Destiny
by on-a-mad-freaking-trip
Summary: Companion to Inconceivable.  She didn't have the breath to respond that she was. Her lungs burned and her eyes watered with tears of fright, the muscles in her legs threatening to give out on her at any minute.
1. Chapter 1

So this is actually a companion story of sorts to my other one Inconceivable. They over lap and Vivanna will be in here eventually. So yay if you liked her! And if you didn't well. . . eh. She's not around too much. But I hope you like it!

I do not own Merlin unfortunately. I "own"ly ;) own Alana :D. Enjoy and please review. But not too harshly. . . :3

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><p>"Run Alana! Run!"<p>

She didn't have the breath to respond that she was. Her lungs burned and her eyes watered with tears of fright, the muscles in her legs threatening to give out on her at any minute. Her ears were straining all the while to hear how close the soldiers were.

"There she is!" one of them called from her left. She had to bite her lip to keep from crying out in fear. Just as she slipped into a gap between two rocks on the ground, she heard one of them bellow, "Catch her! Don't let her get away!"

After only a moment, one pair of feet flew over the opening in the rocks, then another and another and another, until she lost count of how many there had been. When all had been silent, she softly rose from the gap and stood to look around for soldiers. Seeing none, she made her way at a run back towards the village.

Her mind reached out, trying to get a hold of anyone familiar until finally she found someone. _'Ramsey,' _her voice traveled to him, filling up his mind with her presence. _'Why does your mind seem weak? Are you injured?_' she asked desperately.

'_Do not try and save me my child, for I am captured,'_ his voice weakly traveled back to her. _'You will be captured and executed as well. You must go to Camelot. Do not let anyone know what you are or where you come from. And remember: magic is outlawed in Camelot. _No one_ must know what you know.'_

She felt his presence slip away from hers until he was completely gone. "Ramsey . . ." she murmured, a tear rolling down her cheek.

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><p>"Sire, we found her not far from the Druid village after the raid."<p>

"Why did you not kill her on sight? She is a Druid no doubt," the King answered.

Alana kept her head bowed in submission. Her body was still, save for her fingers that tapped ever more nervously upon her skirt, as she waited to either be executed or released.

"Sire, that is why we brought her here," the soldier answered, his hand resting on top of her shoulder to push her forward. "She did not use any magic, nor did she run away from us when we found her. She merely sat on the ground and did not speak to us."

"And how, Sir Beneveire, would you suggest that we make certain the she has no magic?" the King asked, leaning back in his chair skeptically.

She could hear his thoughts racing wildly. He had taken it for granted that she had no magic when she had not attacked or used it to escape. "What if we put her in mortal danger, Sire, to see if she uses magic to escape?"

The king sighed heavily. He rose from his throne and descended the stairs and crossed the room to where Alana was now kneeling in complete submission. As he neared her, he drew a gleaming sword whose strength and beauty were equally obvious. She saw his feet barely centimeters from her knees and heard the movement of him raising the sword above her.

_Can't use magic, can't use magic . . ._

"Look at me," King Uther commanded sharply. Her head snapped up to look at him in obedience. He met her frightened eyes and felt no compassion for the small, delicate girl that knelt before him. Though she could be no older than fifteen by the looks of her, she could still contain enough magic to bring down Camelot and everything that it stood for. She had to be eradicated.

The sword went up and then swiftly began its plunge back down, ever closer to piercing the top of her head.

For a brief second she thought she could see Ramsey again, smiling at her, beckoning her towards the light that she knew was supposed to take her home to the afterlife.

But there was no light. In fact, from behind her tightly shut eyelids, it was very dark. She hesitated before opening her eyes to see the sword barely a centimeter from her face. She gasped and almost couldn't repress the urge to crawl back and hide behind the soldier's leg.

"Why do you not use your magic, Druid?" he asked harshly, making her flinch in surprise. "You would die to hide a lie instead of defending your life?"

Her eyes were large and round with fear as she looked up at him still. Her lips trembled. But nothing else betrayed the fear she was feeling so intensely. "I have no magic," she whispered, hoping she was believable so he would spare her. "I'll do anything to make you believe me."

He did not lower his sword, but her childlike innocence and sincerity were beginning to wear on him. "You will die to prove it to me?"

"What will have been proved if she is dead Uther?" a woman's voice countered angrily. "If she was innocent and you killed her, what good will that have done?"

"Morgana, this does not concern you," he said, his voice low and dangerous.

"You know this is wrong," she continued to protest, stepping in between Uther and Alana. She turned and knelt before Alana who was still looking up at them all in fear. "What's your name?" Morgana asked her gently.

Alana glanced at the king to see if he might get angry with her but saw that he was too occupied with being upset with Morgana. "Alana," she finally answered after several more moments of hesitation.

"Alana, what happened to you for you to become lost in the forest?" Morgana asked, smiling kindly and taking one of Alana's trembling hands in her own. "You can tell me."

Alana again glanced at the king. Of course, she couldn't say what had actually happened even to the kind woman in front of her. But the king was making her even more nervous and she wasn't sure she could be convincing with him boring holes into her face. "I . . ." she stammered. "I was out riding with my cousin, Marion when the horses got spooked from the fighting that broke out nearby and mine threw me off and ran. Marion's ran off with her. I was left wandering until the soldiers found me," she explained. The words fell from her lips so fast that it seemed as if they were pouring from her mouth like water. She panted and wrung her hands, hoping more than she ever had in her life that she could lie believably.

The woman, Morgana, wrapped her arms around Alana suddenly. "You poor child, you must be exhausted."

Alana was still stiff with fear but felt that this woman was the safest person in the room at the time, so she leaned into her embrace. "Thank you, kind lady. I will be forever grateful for your kindness to me today."

Morgana pulled back and looked at her with another soft smile before getting up to face Uther again. "You see? She is no threat. She is a tired, lost, and frightened child."

"If she has magic she could bring down the entire kingdom! I did not request your council, Morgana!" he bellowed angrily.

Alana saw Morgana flinch slightly, but not back down even a fraction. "I won't let you harm this poor girl. You know what I'm telling you is the truth. I beg of you to swallow your pride and accept it!"

Uther took several swift steps until he was standing toe-to-toe with her. Before he could say anything though, a man was between them. "Father, I will take care of the girl and do as you wish."

Morgana's face contorted in hurt and rage. "_Arthur_! How could you? She's only a child and you're going to execute her for being found alone and lost in the woods?"

Arthur moved her aside and bent help Alana to her feet. He was so strong that she didn't have to exert herself at all. Then he took her shoulder and led her out of the room. As she was leaving, she sensed something odd from the other people that had been standing behind her. When she looked up the first set of eyes she met sent shocks through her as his thoughts flooded her.

It was Emrys.

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><p>So is it any good? Please tell me :D. Thank you SO much for reading and I hope you liked it! Review?<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

So I don't personally like this part as well but it's whatever. Tell me what you think and if it's good I'll continue :D

I do not own Merlin unfortunately. I "own"ly ;) own Alana :D. Enjoy and please review. But not too harshly. . . :3

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><p>The cell looked small and dingy in the dim light deep down in the dungeon. She swallowed and allowed Arthur to lead her to it and stepped obligingly over the threshold and then into the center of the small space.<p>

"Morgana will likely be down here. Do not become persuaded to escape. It will only make you look guilty. And believe me," Arthur whispered to her as he locked the cell door, "she will try."

Alana nodded, her back still facing him and the door. She heard him sigh and turn to walk away. "Is there any hope to be had that I will live?" she whispered.

She heard him sigh once more and turn back to the cell. "If Morgana has her way, you will work in the castle as one of her maids. But my father is not easily persuaded. It could go either way with their level of stubbornness and dedication to disagreeing with one another." Alana let out a shaky breath, knowing there was little hope. "She will likely be here soon after I leave."

Each of his receding footsteps brought her closer and closer to tears as she stood in the cold, lonely cell. She hugged herself and almost wished she had used magic to escape back into the woods. She was not destined to die here, nor on the orders of Uther Pendragon. However, it was her destiny to die. The sole purpose of her existence was to die so man could live. She was destined to die to save Emrys.

Later, when the guards were dragging from exhaustion, Morgana came and spoke with her. She tried to convince Alana to escape, and though she was inclined, she heeded Arthur's warning.

Once Morgana had left and she was alone in the far corner of the cell, she let herself cry. The tears poured down her face shamelessly as she barely held back shaky sobs. It was suddenly crushing her: the fact that she knew with almost perfect certainty that she would die here in Camelot in a tiny cell, destiny or not.

"Girl, you have a visitor."

Alana rolled over and sat up, rubbing her eyes so she could look up and face whoever it was coming to see her. "Who is it?" she asked drowsily.

The guard walked away without answering and left a small dark haired boy in his place. He stepped forward and smiled. "I'm Merlin, Arthur's servant."

She peered out at him and frowned. She stood and walked over to the bars to meet him. He said nothing.

'_What do you want from me?'_ she asked, hoping he wouldn't panic from hearing a voice in his head.

He jumped and frowned back at her. "Was that you?" he whispered.

Alana couldn't help but smile at him. _'Yes it was. Why are you here? Did Arthur send you?'_

He frowned deeper. "So you are a Druid then! And you have magic?" he asked, barely audible.

She backed away from the bars. _'You won't say anything, will you?'_ she asked, suddenly regretting revealing herself to him.

He shook his head quickly. "You will have to be very careful though. I don't think they will let you live unless you are completely convincing and there isn't a shred of doubt to say otherwise," he whispered almost silently.

She sank to her knees. _'So there is no hope for me then? I should just give up now and hope my neck breaks on the rope and kills me on the way down?'_

He said nothing in reply, but Alana could feel the sadness that confirmed she was right. She brought her knees up close to her chest and buried her face against them. _'Merlin, I'm not evil. I have no evil intentions for Camelot. Even though they slaughtered my friends and the closest thing I've ever had to a family. I just want to live. I'd even work. I'd do any job they asked. I'd let them beat me until they were satisfied, as long as I could live.'_

"Go away Merlin," she whispered. He couldn't see her cry. It would be too degrading. "Go."

He looked sadly down on her. "Don't give up. It'll all turn out well one way or the other," he told her reassuringly, kneeling down to try and catch her eye. Her head stayed pressed to her knees. With a sigh he got up and left.

That night and for the next three days she was given dinner and fell asleep next to the bars where it was left for her. All three days, she completely ignored it and slept or cried softly.

On the fourth, the guards took her from her cell and brought her back into the hall and walked her up to where King Uther was sitting with his son at his right and Morgana at his left. She noticed Emrys with an older man off to the side as well.

"Do you know why you're here?" the King asked. She didn't trust herself not to incriminate herself. "Answer me girl."

She flinched at his harsh tone and met his eyes sheepishly. She wrung her trembling hands and opened her mouth to say something but closed it again in fear of making her situation worse. Her eyes wandered over to Merlin for a brief second before she took a deep breath to try and calm her self. "Yes," she stammered pitifully.

"Why?" he asked, still sounding intimidating.

She hesitated and wrung her hands nervously. "I . . . because you think I am a Druid. But I'm not," she added quickly. She let her raven hair fall into her face and shield her from the harsh man looming over her.

"Father, how do you know she's not telling the truth?" the prince asked. The king stared hard at her, studying her until he must have known her well enough to have drawn her portrait.

He frowned. "You haven't used magic to escape," he stated. Alana kept her head down submissively and shook it no.

"I have no magic, your Majesty," she said softly.

"And you have not made any attempts at harming anyone or anything," he said, seeming confused.

"No, your Majesty."

"So then, I don't understand why we found you out in the woods in the same area as our raid took place. If you are not a Druid, then what were you doing there?" he asked, seeming irritated with her.

She looked up and met his angry eyes. She wasn't aware that hers were wide with fear. "I. . . I told you. I was with my cousin horseback riding and the horses got spooked and threw me and ran off with Marion, my cousin."

"And how do I know you're telling me the truth?" Uther asked, resting his head in his hand. "I cannot risk all of Camelot." He stood for a moment, studying her again and frowning deeply.

He turned and walked out of the chambers. Alana looked up in surprise and saw everyone else looking the same way at the receding figure. "Release her," he called back.

Merlin immediately walked over and pulled her up to her feet. "You're free," he whispered, smiling so happily. She nodded, giving him a small smile back.

She suddenly went limp in his hands and her eyes rolled back into her head. "Arthur!" Merlin panicked, almost dropping her as she tried to fall backwards. "Something's wrong. I think it's because she hasn't been eating or drinking anything."

Arthur picked her up in his arms. "We'll go to Gaius's then."

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><p>Thank you SO much for reading :D! Reviews are loved. if you have any ideas for where you think it should go don't be shy!<p> 


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